Hong Kong SAR

Ronshine China Holdings has sealed Asia’s first IPO this year, pricing its HK$1.81bn ($233.5m) Hong Kong float at the bottom of guidance after a low turnout during bookbuilding.

China tested the limits of reform in its stock market this week with disastrous consequences. Equity markets fell globally after China heaved yet more volatility on investors, and mainland stocks saw their worst ever start to the year. The turmoil caught equity capital market bankers off guard, but panic has not set in yet, writes John Loh.

Barclays is preparing to let go of investment banking staff in Asia as the UK lender continues to wind down its presence in non-core markets.

Two senior bankers from Royal Bank of Scotland’s defunct Asian loans division have moved to Banco Santander.

Swire Properties received a good reception for its $500m bond on January 6, capturing an order book that was more than three times bigger thanks to its safe haven status in a volatile market.

A trio of Chinese companies are seeking to list in Hong Kong, having filed draft prospectuses with the city’s stock exchange on Tuesday.

Hong Kong real estate giant Swire Properties and the Korea Development Bank have launched the first investment grade bonds from Asia for 2016, opening books for dollar-denominated transactions on January 6.

Equity markets had an inauspicious start to 2016, as China triggered yet another global sell-off and a new circuit breaker only added to the volatility. Monday was officially the worst-ever start for Chinese shares, but market participants shouldn’t read too much into the turbulence.

French lender Natixis has bolstered its Asia Pacific team with a pair of senior appointments to its fixed income and equity units.

The sell-off in the A-share market on January 4 might well scare off Hong Kong investors from buying Chinese securities via the new Mutual Recognition of Funds (MRF) scheme, but retail investors in China might now have increased appetite for offshore investments available via the MRF’s southern channel, according to market participants.

A much-touted circuit breaker meant to curb wild swings in China’s A-share market was triggered on Monday, as a sharp sell-down set off an exchange-wide trading suspension.

Virscend Education Co launched the institutional bookbuild for its HK$2.19bn ($282.50m) Hong Kong IPO on Monday, even as the slump in Chinese shares triggered a market-wide trading halt and sent global equities tumbling.